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Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government — Government
Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

The first Labour government in 14 years is facing a daunting to-do list and complex challenges at every turn. Public services are under strain. The civil service is under pressure. And ministers must deliver the government’s missions and milestones. But could Keir Starmer’s plan to “rewire the British state” – through using AI and creating a “start-up” culture – turn these challenges into opportunities?
So where is government working well and what is it doing badly? What can be done to make No10, the Treasury and the rest of government function more effectively? What can Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves do to achieve faster economic growth? What will Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives and the other opposition parties do to hold the government to account? How might Donald Trump shape British politics – and how could the UK’s relations with the EU change in the years ahead?
Get behind the scenes in Westminster, Whitehall and beyond on the weekly podcast from Britain’s leading governmental think tank, where we analyse the latest events in politics and explain what they mean. Every week on Inside Briefing, IfG director Hannah White and the team welcomes special guests for a thought-provoking conversation on what makes government work – and how to fix it when it doesn’t.

Copyright: © Institute for Government

Latest Episodes:

Slave To The ’Rithm – Exams crisis fallout Aug 21, 2020

Show notes

The A-Levels fiasco could damage more than pupils’ futures and the career of Gavin Williamson. What will it mean for any potentially beneficial future use of algorithms in welfare, criminal justice, tax and social care? Does abolishing Public Health England make any sense except as a headline – and do panic reorganisations ever work? And can our political classes survive September without warm white wine at an in-person party conference? Special guest Sonia Sodha, chief leader writer at The Observer, joins us to explore the least silly Silly Season on record.

“The algorithm gave us workable average results, but children are not averages. They are individuals.” – Nick Timmins
“The most selective institutions are now oversubscribed while middle and lower-tier universities are threatened with empty places and financial disaster.” – Sonia Sodha
“Replacing Public Health England is extraordinary. It’s rebuilding the plane in mid-flight.” – Nick Timmins

Presented by Hannah White with Gavin Freeguard and Nick Timmins. Audio production by Robin Leeburn

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Marksism Today: The A Levels Fiasco Aug 13, 2020

Show notes

As pupils and parents fume over the A Levels mess, how and why did the Government inflict this fiasco on itself? As cheese drives a wedge between Britain and Japan, is this a taster of a smorgasbord of problems facing our post-EU trade talks? Can Rishi Sunak maintain his popularity when the bills for buying the nation dinner and more come in? And what happens to governments when Prime Ministers go on holiday? Special guest Rafael Behr of The Guardian joins us for the Inside Briefing Seaside Special.

“Hardworking pupils from deprived areas are being dragged down and slackers from rich areas are being dragged up.” – Rafael Behr
“Japan is a very long way away and economic geography wasn’t abolished this year… I’m not sure Liz Truss is wise to draw attention to £102,000 worth of cheese.” – Giles Wilkes
“In 2025 will the terribly inflated A Level grades of the COVID Cohort really be such a big thing?” – Rafael Behr
“We’re learning how great it was to NOT have an independent trade policy…” – Giles Wilkes
“Either chlorinated chicken is coming into this country or it isn’t… The Government needs to start a real conversation about the trade-offs in trade.” – James Kane
“The economic figures are so bad that you need a whole new graph to show them.” – Giles Wilkes

Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Giles Wilkes, Alex Thomas and James Kane. Audio production by Alex Rees

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Northern Uproar and Overloading the Lords Aug 06, 2020

Show notes

The Government’s emergency lockdown of Greater Manchester took the public by surprise and left them confused and resentful. Special guest Jennifer Williams of the Manchester Evening News describes the disarray and what Government needs to fix, fast.

Plus: How fit were public services for coronavirus? Not very, says a new IfG report. What needs to happen, and why didn’t the Government act on the learnings from Operation Cygnus? And as Boris Johnson loads up on Lords, is the Upper Chamber becoming the Crony Express?

“People can’t follow the logic. If you can’t sit in a friend’s garden but you can meet them in a beer garden, it’s little wonder people are confused.” – Jennifer Williams
“Boris Johnson’s honours list touches all the bases of cronyism.” – Hannah White
“The Government went for private contracts because they could scale up fast – but whether that leads to effective track and trace is another matter.” – Jennifer Williams
“Lords reform needs something a bit more fundamental than moving some Lords to York.” – Jennifer Williams

Presented by Bronwen Maddox with the IfG’s Hannah White and Nick Davies. Audio production by Alex Rees

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The Pain In Spain Jul 31, 2020

Show notes

The Government’s emergency Spanish quarantine: decisive action, poor planning or a failure to understand what working life is really like? With the inevitable Public Inquiry into Coronavirus now confirmed, special guest Sir Lawrence Freedman – emeritus professor of War Studies at Kings College London and a former member of the Iraq War inquiry – tells us how to run an effective inquiry. And is No.10’s proposed US-style spokesperson designed to help Boris Johnson dodge real scrutiny?

“The Government is desperate to be seen to react quickly to combat the perception that in the early days of COVID they were slow off the mark.” – Alex Thomas
“Any inquiry shouldn’t just ask why we reacted slowly but why we had outbreaks across the country, not just in one epicentre.” – Lawrence Freedman
“We won’t get conclusions from a COVID inquiry in time for a second wave. The learning has to happen right now.” – Emma Norris

Presented by Bronwen Maddox with the IfG’s Alex Thomas, Jill Rutter and Emma Norris. Audio production by Alex Rees

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Civil Service: Is a Hard Rain really gonna fall? Jul 24, 2020

Show notes

Reforming the Civil Service is the biggest of Big Asks. Can Dominic Cummings pull off his radical plans in the middle of a once-in-a-century health crisis? And do we need fewer “fixers” who change jobs a lot, and more long-term experts? Plus, the Russia Report: what went wrong in protecting the integrity of our elections? Who should feel most embarrassed: Government, security services or civil servants? And what should be done next?

“Framing Civil Service reform as ‘us against them’ is not going to encourage civil servants to give their best advice.” – Alex Thomas
“Civil Service reform is quite nerdy so it’s unusual for politicians to give it such attention.” – Cath Haddon

Presented by Bronwen Maddox with the IfG’s Alex Thomas, Cath Haddon and Emma Norris. Audio production by Alex Rees

ENDS

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Huawei, Lewis And The News Jul 16, 2020

Show notes

Britain’s decision to rip out Huawei kit from our mobile network by 2027 has set the Government on a collision course with China. Who forced this decision: Washington, the security establishment or the Government’s own backbenchers? And what does this change of posture towards a powerful trading nation mean for Brexit? The BBC’s Security Correspondent Gordon Corera joins us to discuss the tension between London and Beijing plus the detail Britain’s Integrated Security and Defence Review. And how does Russia fit in to a new Tech Cold War?

“You can have the best decision-making architecture in the world – but it doesn’t mean you’ll make good decisions.” – Alex Thomas
“Putin sees the end of the Soviet Union as a humiliation and he sees weakening the West as a goal.” – Gordon Corera
“We’re in a world where the UK is being forced to choose between geopolitical alliances.” – Alex Thomas

Presented by Bronwen Maddox with the IfG’s Alex Thomas, Cath Haddon and Alex Nice. Audio production by Robin Leeburn.

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Rishi’s Groupon Gamble Jul 10, 2020

Show notes

Is Rishi Sunak’s colossal £30bn package of jobs stimulus, training subsidy, VAT cuts and stamp duty changes be enough to stave off a COVID crash? And will his Mega Meal Deal make a difference to the comatose cafe and restaurant industry? Special guest Rupert Harrison, a portfolio manager at Blackrock and previously Chief of Staff to former chancellor George Osborne, joins us to unpick the Chancellor’s summer statement.

“Sunak has given notice that he’s turning off the spraygun of business support.” – Rupert Harrison

Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Gemma Tetlow and Giles Wilkes. Audio production by Robin Leeburn.

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SIR BERNARD JENKIN on the Civil Service’s turbulent week Jul 06, 2020

Show notes

Sir Bernard Jenkin, chairman of the Commons Liaison Committee, discusses a turbulent week for the Civil Service, Mark Sedwill’s departure as cabinet secretary, and the government's plans for reforming the way that government works, with Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.

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A Good Year For The Roosevelts Jul 03, 2020

Show notes

Is Build Build Build just Talk Talk Talk? With its £5bn shopping list of infrastructure spending, is Boris Johnson’s so-called New Deal really as big and Rooseveltian as he’d like the world to believe? Does the sudden departure of Sir Mark Sedwill indicate that the Government is just building another brand of groupthink? And as Leicester locks down again, does a ‘whack-a-mole’ COVID strategy make sense if you can’t see the mole?

Special guest Robert Shrimsley, chief political commentator and editor at large at the Financial Times, joins us to examine the economics beneath the announcements.

“Someone described Johnson as ‘Brexity Hezza’… This is a Prime Minister who will intervene before breakfast, lunch and dinner.” – Robert Shrimsley
“This is not a free trade government… and there’s a tension between that and its post-Brexit free trade rhetoric.” – Robert Shrimsley
“We’re going to spend the next 15 years negotiating and renegotiating its trade agreements with the EU.” – Robert Shrimsley

Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Cath Haddon, Gemma Tetlow and Raphael Hogarth. Audio production by Robin Leeburn.

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Resign o’the Times: Mark Sedwill departs Jun 29, 2020

Show notes

Sir Mark Sedwill’s departure as Cabinet Secretary after weeks of sniping has startled Westminster, with many fingers pointing at Dominic Cummings. No Cabinet Secretary has ever been forced out of office like this before, least of all in the middle of a national crisis. What does Sedwill’s resignation mean for reform of the Civil Service? Is the centre of government facing evolution or revolution? And are we seeing the politicisation of the Civil Service?

“It’s extraordinary for civil servants to be talking about reform in the middle of a national crisis.” – Cath Haddon

Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Cath Haddon and Alex Thomas. Audio production by Robin Leeburn.

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